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Old 09-03-2009, 01:04 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Hopefully it wasn't a neighbour who didn't like the appearance of wires in the yard.

You reminded me of a story:

When I was a kid growing up in suburban Toronto, my best friend lived 3 houses down from me. We got the idea that it would be cool to set up a telegraph between our bedrooms (both on the 2nd floor - important for logistical purposes, as you'll see).

The idea for wire evolved from trying to decipher morse code that we blinked via flashlight beams aimed on the backsides of the houses on the street behind us that we could both see (our windows were on the same plane, thus the need for the "screens"). I'm sure some of those neighbours wondered what was going on (if they even noticed).

So we askfed for & got permission from the two houses between us and strung a couple hundred feet of telephone wire between our 2nd floor windows. Then we bought a cheap doorbell intercom set so we could actually buzz & talk to each other. Much more efficient than morse code!

It was safe from squirrels, ninja tornadoes and vandals until we got bored and took it down (I'm guessing after a year or so).

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Old 09-08-2009, 12:03 AM   #12 (permalink)
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Old 09-08-2009, 09:35 PM   #13 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
The idea for wire evolved from trying to decipher morse code that we blinked via flashlight beams aimed on the backsides of the houses on the street behind us that we could both see (our windows were on the same plane, thus the need for the "screens"). I'm sure some of those neighbours wondered what was going on (if they even noticed)
That's pretty ingenious! Code takes a while to master. I recall back when I was a kid, folks were pretty relaxed if you weren't really breaking laws flagrantly. It seems like you knew everyone on your street -- and there was always that old "keep off my lawn!" guy as the exception.

Now, everyone has a fence (but us -- I refuse, fences split neighbors instead of fostering "neighborliness"). In this case, it may have been harder or more intimidating to get in to vandalize. But, I'm over it for now. The senseless act actually has forced me to install it in a better location.

Plus, I'm still laughing at the "Ninja Tornado" comment. I have to use that in some official capacity

RH77

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